There has been a marked improvement in the way forces are
recording crime, the police inspectorate has said, but further
progress is still needed.
In a new PEEL spotlight report “How effectively do the police
record crime?”, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and
Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that over the last
decade, forces' awareness and understanding of how to prioritise
and accurately record crimes has increased.
The inspectorate said that in the year ending 31 March 2025, the
total number of crimes recorded was over 5.3 million. And the
percentage of overall crime the police have recorded has risen
from 80.5 percent in 2014 to 94.8 percent this year.
Positively, HMICFRS found that the recommendations made as part
of its 2014 inspection on crime recording have all been
implemented. These changes have helped support improvements, such
as making sure forces allocate the right resources to respond
effectively and provide the right service and support to victims. Forces that
are doing particularly well in this area have leaders who are
committed to high recording standards. However, there is still
considerable variation between forces in the way they record
crime.
Inspectors also said:
- While more crime is being recorded, too many offences are
still going unrecorded; an estimated 285,000 last year. There
were a small number of occasions when inspectors found forces
over-recording crimes, which was slightly distorting the police
recorded crime information available;
- Forces usually record sexual offences correctly, and they
have improved the way they record rape crimes. But they need to
make sure they always record unconfirmed reports of rape;
- Violent crimes are the least well recorded crime type. Forces
need to improve their recording of conduct crimes such as
harassment, stalking and
controlling or coercive
behaviour. These crimes disproportionately affect women and
girls and account for 37.9 percent of unrecorded violent crime;
and
- Forces need to improve how they record crimes associated with
domestic
abuseincidents, vulnerable victims and those incidents they
categorise as antisocial behaviour
personal. They also need to record reports of crime at the
earliest opportunity, as only 78.1 percent of all crimes on
average are being recorded and classified within 24 hours.
HMICFRS has made three new recommendations that apply to all
police forces in England and Wales, which focus on the accuracy,
timeliness and scrutiny of forces' crime recording. Forces have
also been asked to make sure they are making sufficient progress
with four existing recommendations or areas for improvement
that the inspectorate has made in previous reports.
His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher
said:
“For the public to have trust and confidence in policing, they
need to know that when they report a crime, the police will
record it accurately and without delay.
“Correctly recording these crimes means forces can quickly
allocate cases and begin investigations promptly. Importantly, it
also helps to make sure victims receive a better service, and
access the support they may desperately need.
“We have seen marked improvements in the way forces record
crimes, and a greater awareness and understanding of its
importance. I am particularly pleased with the way forces have
taken action to implement our recommendations from previous
inspections.
“However, there is still more to do. There remains much
difference between forces in how well they record crime. For
example, violent crimes still aren't being recorded well enough
and the level of crime reporting related to antisocial behaviour
remains unacceptably low.
“We will continue to inspect crime recording as part of our
2025–27 PEEL inspection programme, and support improvements in
policing, so the public receive the service they deserve.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- The PEEL spotlight report “How effectively do the police
record crime?” will be published at 00:01 on Thursday 28 August
2025.
- This report brings together findings from our 2016--20 Crime
Data Integrity and 2021/22 and 2023–25 PEEL inspection
programmes.
- Since 2014, in our inspections and audits of crime data
integrity, we have assessed the accuracy of crime recording by
police forces in England and Wales.
- In 2014, we measured how well the police as a whole recorded
crime. In this report ‘Crime-recording: making the victim count',
we made 13 recommendations for improvements to crime recording.
- From 2016 to 2020, we developed our audit methodology to
measure how well each force recorded crime. Then from 2021 to
2025, we carried out individual force audits as part of our
police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy (PEEL) inspection
programme.
